Recently Cleaned Thread

[BriskodaJeff]

8 minutes ago, jars said:

Not had chance to give my car a proper clean but did manage to polish the headlights I put in to replace my Xenon’s after a ballast failed 😡

 

Terrific results. Really impressive. Would you mind writing up how you did it for anyone with a similar issue? Thanks .

[Titanium_Man]

2 minutes ago, BriskodaJeff said:

Terrific results. Really impressive. Would you mind writing up how you did it for anyone with a similar issue? Thanks .

 

Hi Jeff. 

 

Thanks mate. Not bad for a quick clean I guess! 

 

Let me eat the chinese I've just bought and I’ll post something up 👍

[Titanium_Man]

13 hours ago, BriskodaJeff said:

Terrific results. Really impressive. Would you mind writing up how you did it for anyone with a similar issue? Thanks .

 

Hi Jeff,

 

Apologies for not writing this last night, but had a few on board and fell asleep after my food and a couple more bottles of wine 😆

 

I used a Sealey Digital Rotary Polisher that we have in work;

 

https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637187954/polisher-digital-o180mm-1100w230v-lightweight

 

..... and used this polish;

 

 

.... I can’t tell you what brand of pad TBH, but it’s an orange 5” foam pad, so assume it is a medium cut.

 

I misted the lights with plain water, as per the instructions on the bottle as the G3 polish is quite thick! 

 

I primed the pad with three blobs of polish and dabbed it all over both headlights. I spread the polish on speed “10” which is 1000rpm. (I mention the speed as my own Silverline polisher is not digital, plus, mine has a dial allowing much better control of the speed rather than going up in increments of 500rmp)

 

Once the headlight is covered, I upped the machine to “15” (1500rpm)  

 

I did two passes on this speed, moving the machine at about an inch/second.  Upped to “20” for two passes,  down to “15” for 1 pass and finally down to “10” for two passes. 

 

Once finished, I wiped off with a decent microfibre cloth. (I love these - https://carpro.uk.com/products/orangeboa )

 

Now, if I had done this at home I would have used a much smaller pad as the 5” is simply too big for the light to get into the corners. As it were, I mostly used the edge of the pad rather than the full face of it. Not technically the correct way of using the machine, but not a bad result. 

[AidanF]

Gave my Superb a clean and mini detail today.

 

Prewash with Autofinesse Citrus Blast.

Two bucket wash with Autoglym shampoo.

 

Autoglym Magma for a decontamination on bodywork and wheels. Would recommend Magma for anyone a bit nervous about using a clay bar, may not be as effective as clay but left a very smooth touch surface and a simple spray on, agitate, rinse off application.

 

Finished with Autoglym Rapid Aqua Wax, alloy wheel seal, tyre gel and Fast Glass.

 

Gave the engine bay a very quick spruce up with AG Engine & Machine Cleaner and Vinyl & Rubber Care.

 

Job done until it gets filthy again on Monday 🙄😁

 

 

[MarkyG82]

On 07/09/2019 at 10:33, jars said:

 

I used a Sealey Digital Rotary Polisher that we have in work;

 

 

@jars do you think it's possible to get 90% of your result with hand polishing? I don't have a machine but quite a few pads for hand jobs (😝) that I mainly use for light scuffs and the like. Have a bottle of all-in-one but don't mind getting some more dedicated compound for a more aggressive cut if needed. Just can't justify the spend on a machine ☹️

[Titanium_Man]

8 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

 

@jars do you think it's possible to get 90% of your result with hand polishing? I don't have a machine but quite a few pads for hand jobs (😝) that I mainly use for light scuffs and the like. Have a bottle of all-in-one but don't mind getting some more dedicated compound for a more aggressive cut if needed. Just can't justify the spend on a machine ☹️

Sounds like you’re sorted for hand jobs then 🤣

 

TBH, it depends how bad they are to begin with. 90% maybe a far reach (based on the lights I pictured) but you should be able to get decent results with the right polish and pad combo in your hand. Maybe 70/80% if you had a couple of goes at it?! 

 

FYI you can pick up a Silverline Rotary Polisher for about £45. Any cheapo pad with a medium cut polish will be all you need, it your financial position changes.

[MarkyG82]

Thanks for that. Didn't realise rotary machines were not overly expensive. Have a couple of patches on my car and my other halfs headlights to do so may look into getting one.

 

Thanks

[Ferrit]

[TheGingerOne]

Just finished giving this it’s annual going over. I think it looks reasonable given I had a bucket, a sponge and naff all else to work with. 

[Defblade]

[NB, cross posted to my project thread]

 

When I bought the car, what I at first thought were numerous fine scratches in the paint tuned out to be fibres from the valet guy's towel, caught on all the tiny raised imperfections on the paintwork... I knew then that the car was going to need a good bit of attention sooner rather than later!

 

It's taken a bit longer than I'd have liked, between busy-ness and lots of rain, but I finally managed to shower-dodge long enough to get the washing and drying done outside before pulling the car back into the garage for the rest.

The products I use are mainly Meguiars, with AutoGlym when I can't see a Meg product that suits. Meguiars stuff always seems to give me good results and so I tend to stick with them... they're not silly expensive, either

 

Having said that, this time knowing that the paintwork has a lot of contamination, I thought I'd try the AutoGlym Magma as an early step to getting it clean.

 

First off, I did the wheels... turns out they're not just black, they're a lovely metallic black with plenty of flake (I suppose everyone here knows that already!).

I think I may invest some time and money in taking them off and cleaning them properly, then using the Gtechniq C5 wheel armour (which I've found worked well on my motorbike wheels in the past)... a project for deeper in the winter maybe.

 

Next, snowfoam.

Then the Magma. It definitely found plenty to work on:

 

However, it was a swine to rinse off (great cling/dwell, but still...) and I used more than half the bottle. As I clay anyway, I don't think it's a step I'd bother with again, except maybe, like here, the first time on a secondhand car.... even then, probably not.

 

Then a 2 bucket wash using plain car shampoo (the last of my Zymol...) and it's actually quite clean at last:

 

 

Drive back into the garage and out of the sun, dry it off a bit and whack the heater up full (don't tell my wife  )... come back next day.

 

The to do list (AG tar remover missing from the pile):

 

Went around the whole car looking for those little black specks to hit with the tar remover (my head torch has high CRI LEDS, which give good colour rendition, it really helps picking up spots, scratches, etc)

Cleaned the glass inside and out (Turtle Wax cleaner not great, lots of effort... need some Meg's!)

Clayed the whole car, including the 3 big glass sections. Realised the spoiler is also very metallic black, like the wheels. I think any add-ons to this car will have to follow this theme...

Polished the glass on windscreen, roof and tailgate with the AG glass polish. (The glass running front-to-back is such a part of the look of the Sport that I wanted to prep and protect it as well as I could)

Applied Meg's glass sealant - another product that's a swine to mop up the excess - used up a lot of microfibre clothes to get it done!

Turtle Wax nano wheel sealant sprayed on (also not in pic above...); Meg's tyre gel applied (which smells amazing! Black grape  ).

A light polish to every panel, concentrating on any scratches... there's a few, mainly around the bumpers and load lip. Not loads, and nothing terrible though.

Finally, the Meg Ultimate liquid wax on all over and then buffed off. I love this stuff, so easy to put on and take off, always with excellent results which last and last.

Treated it to a new pair of wiper on the front, too, now the screen is clean and sealed.

 

I'm afraid continued rubbish weather meant I wasn't about to take the car out for pictures (not that the light would have been much better outside anyway!), so you'll have to make do with rather cramped angles and LED light (cheap bulbs plus my high CRI torch). There aren't any noticeable scratches on the spoiler, so that mark at 4 o'clock from the LED highlight must be an artefact of some sort... I'm not the greatest photographer... Still loving the flake though

 

[Cakemonster]

Yesterday's job, snowfoam, two bucket wash, Bilt Hamber Cleanser and then a re-application of Fusso Soft. Just maintenance washing and Sonax BSD now until spring. 

 

[Mr Grump]

Busy morning and part afternoon for me

New motor got it first wash from me, so jet-wash, a decontamination (Iron-x and power Maxed TFR) followed by a jet-wash rinse.

2BM wash with Autoglym Shampoo, and wax with Fusso99 topped with Megiurs Ultimate QD (Sonax BSD on the roof).

No idea what the dealer used on the glass, as it didn't like rain-x applied, it went all tacky !

So the windows had isopropyl clean then autoglym glass polish applied,. That combination usually sorts it, but I had to do the tailgate glass 3 times before it was good !

Anhoo … the fruits of my labour:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mandp]

1 hour ago, Mr Grump said:

Busy morning and part afternoon for me

New motor got it first wash from me, so jet-wash, a decontamination (Iron-x and power Maxed TFR) followed by a jet-wash rinse.

2BM wash with Autoglym Shampoo, and wax with Fusso99 topped with Megiurs Ultimate QD (Sonax BSD on the roof).

No idea what the dealer used on the glass, as it didn't like rain-x applied, it went all tacky !

So the windows had isopropyl clean then autoglym glass polish applied,. That combination usually sorts it, but I had to do the tailgate glass 3 times before it was good !

Anhoo … the fruits of my labour:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really, REALLY nice job. Well done.

[WolfyWesty]

Given both cars a quick wash whilst managing a hangover! Nothing special but satisfying to take all the road film and dirt off them and get them both shiny! 

[StealthRS245]

Sorry about the rubbish photos, finally got around to giving the Octavia a proper scrub. Full decontamination plus clay bar, coating-stripping snowfoam and hand wash, 2 stage machine polish, alcohol wipedown and Nova Jet/Lustre sio2 spray coating. My back hurts, but worth it 😁

[DJG1984]

First wash of the year ahead of Tuesdays Service and MOT. 

Edited 5 January, 2020 by DJG1984
Add pics

[DJG1984]

Today I washed my father in laws ashtray on wheels. I could of spent another 3-4 hours on it. 

 

 

[VRS_White_Hatch]

Nice job DJG much improved and I bet it smells better too.

[WolfyWesty]

Done well on that Yaris DJG! My SO's parents car is in a similar state. Absolutely minging! Can't wait to be able to wash it (after dropping hints numerous times).

 

Cracking job!

[mandp]

1 hour ago, WolfyWesty said:

Done well on that Yaris DJG! My SO's parents car is in a similar state. Absolutely minging! Can't wait to be able to wash it (after dropping hints numerous times).

 

Cracking job!

`SO's`?

[VRS_White_Hatch]

Significant Other? 

Edited 21 January, 2020 by VRS_White_Hatch

[mandp]

12 minutes ago, VRS_White_Hatch said:

Significant Other? 

Ah..thank you. Makes a change from `partner` I suppose.

[WolfyWesty]

13 minutes ago, VRS_White_Hatch said:

Significant Other? 

 

Just now, mandp said:

Ah..thank you. Makes a change from `partner` I suppose.

 

Yeah, thought it was a general term? Sorry for any confusion!

 

Can't stand the word "Partner"

[DJG1984]

Thanks guys. No doubt it will be back in a similar state in no time... 

 

And yes it smells much better now. 

[DJG1984]

Gave the Rapid a good clean this morning. Not a full on service like normal... Storm Denis has arrived unfortunately. 

 

The roads around North East Scotland are bloody horrendous just now. Grit/salt and mud. Guess most are the same right now. 

 

 

Quartz grey is a nightmare colour to keep clean. The denim blue was easier, showed up the dirt less. 

 

Was gonna take pics but the weather is awful now..